Repeating firearm.



PATENTED MAY 19, 1908.'

M. HEPBURN. REPEATIN'G FIREARM. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I I I I l I WWI Imam TM: NORRIS PETERS co-fwnsnmcrou, u. c.

UNITED srA'rEs PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN HEPBURN, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO MARLIN FIREARMS COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

REPEATING FIREARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1908.

,- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MELVIN HEPBURN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, New Haven county, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Repeating Firearms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to repeating firearms of the type in which the breech mechanism is actuated by a reciprocating action rod.

The present invention consists in improving certain details of construction in guns ofthe aforesaid type, the main object being to provide a superior construction for the operating handle of the action rod. Firearms of this type are sometimes termed pump guns and the action rod is usually arranged to reciprocate forward of the receiver and in a plane p arallel with and just below the barrel. In such guns it is common to rovide the action rod with a wooden han le or grip. It has been found in practice that these handles are very liable to be broken, either from severe usage or by season-checking and cracking. When the action rod handle becomes season-checked or cracked, ordinary use is liable to cause the handle to break away, thus making the gun practically useless, since the owner can only operate the same with the greatest difficulty and danger.

My invention aims to provide a construction which, even though said handle is split, the several parts thereof will still be properly held, thus permitting the user to operate the gun easily and with perfect safety. The invention thus affords great durability in a part heretofore recognized as conspicuously weak. V p

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of the barrel and magazine portion of the gun, certain parts being partly broken away; Fig. 2 is a front end view of theoperating handle detached, and of substantially full size; Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the operating handle detached Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the operating handle and rod detached and artly broken away; Fig. 5 is a plan view of t e operating handle and rod, the handle being partly broken away and shown in horizontal section.

1 represents the barrel of the firearm.

2 represents a magazine. lar form shown the magazine 2 is carried by In the particubrackets hung from barrel 1 and is capable of having a limited longitudinal movement parallel with the barrel but independent thereof. Suitable latch mechanism may be provided to hold the magazine in its forward or rear position.

3 is the action-rod. 4 is a bracket or guide for the free end of said rod. The forward end of the. rod 3 is carried by, and preferably formed. integrally with, an annular member 5. This annular member 5 has a forwardly extending sleeve 6 at its inner edge. At the outer edge of the annular member 5 is a forwardly projecting cup-shaped flange 7. 8 is a reinforcing tube suitably secured on sleeve extension 6, as by brazing or rivets '9, or both, one of these rivets being shown in Fig. 5.

10 is an annular retaining member arranged to screw onto the threaded forward end of the tube 8. This annular member 10 has a rearwardly projecting cup shaped flange 1 1.

12 is an external covering or grip member,

of suitable material, preferably wood. This grip 12 snugly fits on tube 8. 1

14 is a flange at the inner edge of the annular member 10 to reduce the diameter of the same and to cause the same to fit properly on the magazine tube 2, which latter is of uniform diameter throughout. The flange 14 and sleeve 6 cooperate to steady the operating handle on said magazine tube. The rear end of the grip 12 is suitably recessed at its inner side, as indicated in Fig. 5, to receive the rivet 9, or other suitable projection, which may project slightly above the surface of the tube 8 so as to act not only as a means for connecting the parts 6 and 8, but also as a key or keeper to prevent the covering 12 from turning on the tube 8. The cupped flanges 7 and 11 face each other and overstand the ends of the covering 12, so that when the parts are all drawn up tightly, by screwing on the annular member 10, the covering 12 is securely clam ed in place so that should it become cracke or season-checked, the separate parts thereof (produced by the cracking) would still be securely held in place, whereas otherwise they would fall away and leave the exposed comparatively sharp edges of the flanges 7 and 11 in such osition as to endanger the hand of the user if 1e attempted to operate the action.

As shown in Figs, 2, 3 and 5, the upper part of the handle may be suitably grooved longitudinally, whereby the same may be brought snugly up to the barrel. 15 is a stop carried by the magazine tube 2. 16 is a longitudinal recess in the upper part of the internal tubular reinforce 8, terminatin at its rear end preferably at a point coinci cut with the forward edge of reinforcement 6, so as to provide a relatively heavy shoulder at the rear end of said slot. From the foregoing, it will be seen that when the handle 12 is pushed forwardly, this shoulder will take up against the stop 15, thus limiting the forward excursion. The rearward excursion of the handle is limited by the connection (not shown) of the rod 3 with the breech mechanism.

As will be seen, in the preferred construction the reinforcing tube is spaced apart slightly from the magazine tube by the bearings formed by the inner edges of the annular reinforcing members at each end thereof. By this arrangement greater freedom of action is provided.

hat I claim as new is:

1. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, a flange carried by each of said reinforcing members embracing the ends of said grip member.

2. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, one of said members being screwthreaded thereon, a flange carried by each of said members, said flanges forming annular recesses facing each other and receiving the ends of said grip member.

3. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member mounted thereon, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, bearing shoulders on each of said annular members arranged to engage said tube, a flange carried by each of said reinforcing members, said flanges forming annular recesses facing each other and receiving the ends of said grip member.

4. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, a flange carried by each of said reinforcing members, said flanges forming annular recesses facing toward each other and receiving the ends of said grip member.

5. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member mounted thereon, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, one of said members being screw-threaded thereon, means carried by said reinforcing members and arranged to embrace both ends of said grip member.

6. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate 011 said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, a groove therein, a stop on the magazine standing in said groove, an external grip member mounted on said tube, and means at each end of said tube embracing the ends of said grip member.

7. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, said handle including an internal reinforcing tube, a groove therein, a stop on said magazine standing in said groove, an external grip member mounted on said tube, and means at each end of said tube embracing the ends of said grip member, one of said embracing means being adjustably mounted on said tube.

8. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, an internal reinforcing tube, an external gri member fitted thereon, a reinforcing annu ar member at each end of said tube, each of said members overstanding the adjacent end of the grip member.

9. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member fitted thereon, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, each of said members overstanding the adjacent end of the grip member, one of said annular members being adjustably mounted on said tube.

10. In a firearm, a barrel, a magazine, a handle arranged to reciprocate on said magazine, an internal reinforcing tube, an external grip member fitted thereon, a reinforcing annular member at each end of said tube, each of said members overstanding the adjacent end of the grip member, one of said annular members being adjustably mounted on said tube, said reinforcing tube being spaced apart from said magazine by said annular members.

MELVIN I-IEPBURN. Witnesses CLIFFORD B. WALKER, J OHN J. EGAN. 

